Working On My Redneck ™ » have at em boys

The Truth, A Typo, Or Bad Grammar?

Leon — Thu, 19 May 2011 15:45:34 +0000

(workingonmyredneck file photo)

After reviewing Kevin Harvick’s statement about his required meeting with Kyle Busch in the “NASCAR Oval Office” after the race at Darlington, I am not sure if it was the truth, a typo, a play on words, or just bad grammar.

This is what Kevin Harvick was quoted as saying after being called into the NASCAR hauler and being “chewed out” by the NASCAR officials over his confrontation with Kyle Busch after the end of the Darlington race. According to the printed script, Havick said, “That was basically the jest of the meeting.”

Do you think that Harvick meant “that was basically the gist of the meeting”?

However, in this case, the correct word could be jest!

NASCAR fined, both Harvick and Kyle, $25,000 and placing them on a four race probation. This my friends is a pittance! It is merely a dough-for-show fine! It appears that NASCAR had to levy something in order to keep the “Have at ‘em boys” from escalating into a full time destruction derby, rather than a 500 mile competitive race.

However, it is understandable when drivers complain that NASCAR is too arbitrary in its rules enforcement. NASCAR sends mixed signals to its drivers with a “Have at ‘em boys”, then the next day it hands out fines and probation for putting a ding in a race car! Is that confusing, or what?

To be totally fair to NASCAR, that sanctioning body has to tread a very fine line. If the racing becomes too bland, the viewership dwindles, and revenue falls. If the racing becomes too aggressive, there is a possibility of someone getting hurt. Therein lies the reason that NASCAR occasionally has to make “a token foul” call, to maintain their control!

Having said all of that, sometimes the best call is no call at all!

Nevertheless, NASCAR felt compelled to do something in the Kevin and Kyle Show, and therefore, did as little as humanly possible. A four race probation and a $25,000 fine is merely chump change to these millionaires, and is totally meaningless! The sanctioning body, NASCAR, is not going to suspend two of its most exciting race car drivers. Remember the words, revenue and viewership!

In fact, NASCAR should be sending these two drivers their $25,000 back, a huge thank you note to each, and quite possibly an all-expense paid trip somewhere in the off-season for both! That incident has paid huge dividends to NASCAR since it has happened!

Replays and re-hashes of their Darlington donnybrook got twice as much air time and column inches throughout the following week than any other event so far this season. And it will be replayed again and again during lulls in the action and leading up to this weekend’s All-Star race. It has created its own “firestorm”! That is good for viewership and revenue, remember those words!

Kyle and Kevin were told to play nice, but they know there is no bite in NASCAR’s bark.

The gist of it is that it’s all in jest!

What is your take on the Kevin and Kyle Show?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Gateway Nationwide Race a Wakeup Call?

Leon — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 01:22:34 +0000

(photo courtesy Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

Has NASCAR reached a new low point in the new “Have at it era”? Some have already said that on Saturday night when Carl Edwards dumped “Blazingly Bad” Brad Keselowski into the outside retaining wall just prior to the start/finish line, NASCAR hit a new low!

Edwards made no secret that he intentionally punted Keselowski. However he did not address where he did it, on the front straight just prior to the start/finish line, directly in front of oncoming race cars. It was as blatant as his previous dumping of “Blazingly Bad” Brad at Atlanta back in March of this year.

One had to feel for Bob Keselowski, Brad’s dad, who had to sit by once again and see Edwards put his son in grave danger! Bob Keselowski has been around long enough to remember that people do get killed in race cars. Just the fact that he used the word “killed” several times in a live TV interview show that at least someone at the track was aware of what could happen as a result of “Have at it” gone wild.

Notwithstanding all the safety improvements that occurred over the past 60 years in NASCAR, with both the race tracks and race cars, intentionally wrecking a driver at 120 mph or 200 mph could have catastrophic results that could never be undone. Edwards almost put Keselowski into the grandstands at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in March. Brad K walked away from the crash in Atlanta, he was also able to get out his race car last night under his own power,stunned and shaken nonetheless, likewise all the other race car drivers who wrecked because of Edwards willful and intentional crashing of Keselowski climbed from their race cars seemingly unscathed. It certainly could have worked out quite to the contrary in both crashes!

There are business consequences too. Will mainstream sponsors continue to support drivers, and a sport in general, where intentional, controversial and possibly life-threatening high-speed wrecks are allowed?

And where is NASCAR in all of this? We don’t know yet. However, we do know that he apparently will be allowed to keep his win at Gateway and that in the 12 hours since the crash there was no word from NASCAR about the incident, one way or another!

WOMR believes that it is time for NASCAR to issue some kind of punishment that is equal to the “crime” that Edwards perpetrated on a fellow race car driver, not just a 3 race probation slap on the hands like back in March!

Additionally, WOMR believes that “Bad” Brad should pre-apologize to Jack Roush and advised Mr. Roush to please crank up your car building facility for at least for Edwards, ’cause Roush is going to need to build Carl at least a couple of extra cars for both of the series, Sprint Cup and Nationwide!

Did someone say that NASCAR is now sanctioning “Destruction Derbies” that are companion races and that run simultaneously with the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series races on the tack?

What is your view of Edwards turning into a one man wrecking crew?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Infineon Was A Hooligan!

Leon — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 20:49:07 +0000

(photo courtesy Jeb Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

If what we saw Sunday at Infineon Raceway was a prime example of NASCAR’s edict of “have at ‘em boys”, the race teams will need to crank up their production of race cars for the rest of the season. The Toyota/Save Mart 350 was more like a destruction derby than a NASCAR road race.

The race Sunday transformed some normally dignified race car drivers into “road rage perpetrators”. Jeff Gordon looked like a bargain shopper at the famous Filene’s Bargain Basement in Boston! He was not letting anything get in his way on his march towards the front, animate nor inanimate.

In fact, the only cars that the HMS #24 Dupont Chevy didn’t hit was the pace car and the track ambulance! Nevertheless, two of the angrier recipients of Gordon’s bumper car driving style Sunday, were Martin Truex, Jr. and Kurt Busch.

After the race Gordon appologized to Truex, kinda sorta.

“I made a lot of guys mad today,” Gordon said. “I certainly owe Martin Truex and apology. I feel awful about that.”

“I guess Jeff figured he couldn’t catch us on the race track he was going to spin us out on the restart,” Truex said.

“Appology not accepted”, Truex said!

There was no apology from Gordon to Kurt Busch, another driver he dozed.

If you compare the nationwide race at Road America Saturday with the race at Infineon on Sunday, there was quite a difference. Granted at Road America there was a red flag for a big pile up, and there were bumps, and bangs along the way. However, at Infineon it looked like the battle field at Gettysburg after the race! The carnage resembled Bristol, Talladega, or Daytona after “the big one”!

What is your take on the “Infineon Destruction Derby”?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!